Reversible helmet



Fb. 20, 1934. H. w. Lut-:CK ET AL REVERSIBLE HELMET Filed April 1o, 19312 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 2Q 1934. H, w LUECK Er AL 1,947,786

I REVERSIBLE HELMET Filed April lO, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 di@ l@ /l gliE." Ti I A Waff,

Patented Feb. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REVERSIBLE HELMETHenry W. Lueck and Charles H. Davis, Park 1 Claim.

Our invention relates generally to helmets, and more particularly tohelmets which are adapted to protect the face of the wearer when in useand the face guard of which may be easily moved to 4inoperative positionwhen desired.

In many of the industrial arts, such as oxyacetylene welding andcutting, electric welding, operation of blast furnaces and the like, andin the pulling of switches in electric power generating g stations, itis extremely desirable, if not necessary, that the workman be providedwith protection for his face. However, in most instances such protectionis necessary only during a portion oi the working day and the workmanwill remove the protection at intervals. Unless the face protector iseasily movable back into effective position, the workman will have atendency to become careless and neglect to replace the protector whenagain commencing work where his face may be exposed to heat or dangerouslight.

In some helmets for industrial use this problem has been partly solvedby having the face guarding portion of the helmet pivotally mountedv ona horizontal axis with respect to the helmet proper so as to make itpossible for the workman to swing the guard portion of the helmet upabove his head. However, in many occupations this type of helmet doesnot prove satisfactory because of the additional head room required.This type of helmet does not prove practical, especially in powerstations where the workman must walk through passageways, the lowceilings of which have suspended therefrom pipes, conductors, etc.,which decrease the head room to a 'minimum. A workman in such restrictedplace will have a tendency to remove the helmet and not replace it priorto pulling a clip switch, and if the latter happens to be energized orcarrying a load, he may be seriously burned by the resulting arc flash.Furthermore, the type of helmet in which the face protector swingsupwardly on a horizontal axis is, when in its upper position,uncomfortable to the wearer due to improper balance of the helmet on hishead, and when A used outdoors catches the wind. It is therefore theprimary object of our invention to provide an improved helmet havingremovable means for protecting the face of the wearer.

A further object is to provide an improved pro- A tective helmet havingface protective means which may be moved from a position in front of theface of the wearer to a position covering the back of the wearers neck.

A further object is to provide an improved helmet which is mounted forrotation about a vertical axis relative to a suitable supporting meansfitting over the wearers head.

A further object is to provide an improved helmet which is simple inconstruction, which may be worn with comfort, which is light in weight,which may be economically manufactured, and which will afford the wearerfull protection against heat and light.

Other objects will appear from the following description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of our improved helmet, showing the manner in which it isworn;

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a central vertical sectional View of the helmet shown inFigs. 1 and 2;Y

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Figure 5 is a central Vertical sectional View of a modification;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;and

Figure 7 is a central vertical sectional View of a second modification.

The helmet shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, comprises a cap-shapedcrown 10 which is preferably made of a fibrous material so as to retainits shape, the crown 10 having a depending ange or brim 12 around themajor portion of its lower peripheral edge and a visor 14. The brim 12and the Visor 14 may be made integrally with the crown 10 or be sewed orotherwise suitably secured thereto.

The crown 10, the brim 12, and visor 14 are preferably covered with asuitable heat resisting material 16, such as chrome leather, asbestoscloth or the like. This heat resisting material may be sewed orotherwise suitably secured to the crown 10.

A head harness comprising a pair of crossed bowed strips 18, anda lowerband 22, the length of which may be adjusted by means of a thumb nut,the ends of which overlap and are secured in adjusted position by thumbnut and screw 24, is 100 rotatably secured to the crown 10, as bestillustrated in Fig. 4. A relatively rigid dise 26 is secured to theharness by a shouldered rivet 28 which passes through the strips 18, 20,and a pair of washers 30. tatable in a metallic eyelet 32 positioned inthe center of the crown 10. The disc 26 and the head harness are thussecured together to rotate as a unit relative to the crown 10, the discpreventing excessive relative tilting movement between the lvl! sov mij

The head of the rivet 28 is ro- 1 05 helmet proper and the head harness.The head harness is preferably lined with leather, or felt or similarmaterial so as to fit comfortably upon the wearers head.

A. face protector or guard 34, as shown in Fig. 1, is riveted orotherwise suitably secured to the brim 12. This protector is preierablymade of chrome leather but may be made or" other materials such asasbestos cloth or other fabric suitable for the particular use for whichthe helmet is intended. A window 36 of glass is secured over an openingin the protector 34 by means of aL ber frame 38 which is sewed orotherwise fastened to face protector 34, preferably without the use ofmetallic fastening means. If desired, two sheets of glass separated byan air space may be used in place or the single sheet disclosed, or forcertain uses the glass may be replaced by a metallic screen. The glasswill or course be of a type suited to the particular use for which thehelmet is intended. Colored and other glass which will lter out harmfullight rays and which will withstand high temperatures, will be mostfrequently used.

It will be noted that the face protector sheet 34 is sufficiently longto fully protect the face and neck of the wearer and extends backwardlya sufficient distance to cover and protect the wearers ears. This is ofparticular importance when the helmet is to be used by a workman engagedin pulling the switches in an electric power generating station wherethe arc causes a sudden and extremely hot blast of air.

The modified construction shown in Figs. 5 and V9 6 is generally similarto that previously described except for the means by which the headharness is rotatably connected to the crown of the helmet, and similarreference characters have therefore been applied to the parts which areidentical with those previously described. As best shown in Fig. 6, thecross strips 18 and 20 of the head harness are securely fastened to arelatively large diameter disc 40 by a rivet 42, the head of whichprojects into a hole 43 in the center of the crown 10. A circular guide44, Z-shaped in cross section, has one of its flanges projecting beneaththe disc 40 to form a support and guide therefor, and has its outer angesecured to the crown 10 by a plurality of eyelets or rivets 46. The headharness is thus rotatably connected to the crown of the helmet, theengagement of the disc with the strip 44 preventing any material tiltingmovement of the helmet relative to the harnesss.

The construction shown in Fig. 7 is likewise generally similar to thatshown in Figs. 1 to 4 with the exception that the head harness comprisesan adjustable band to which a plurality oi bowed strips 52 are secured.The upper ends of the strips 52 are secured to a disc 54 adjacent theperipheral edge of the latter. The disc 54 is ro tatably connected tothe crown 10 by a shouldered rivet 56.

In all of the modifications shown, the user will suitably adjust thehead harness to t his head, the band 22 usually fitting over the head ata point directly above the eyebrows. When working in a place where thewearer is subjected to dangerous heat or light, the helmet will be wornas shown in full lines in rlig. 1. When the danger is temporarilyremoved, the wearer, by grasping the visor 14, may rotate the helmetproper relative to the head harness about a vertical axis through anangle of approximately 180 degrees to the position shown in dotted linesin Fig. 1. In this position the face protector sheet 34 will hang overthe back of the neck and shoulders o the wearer and will not in any wayinterfere with the Vision and movements of the wearer. 1t will be notedthat the face protector, when not in use, does not take up any extraspace and will not increase, the head room neces sary for the wearer.The helmet when worn in either position is well balanced and hence willbe comfortable to the wearer and its position not easily disturbed bywind or accidentally knocked from the wearers head.

While we have shown and described particular embodiments of ourinvention, we do not desire the scope of the invention to be limited tothe particular constructions disclosed for the invention may be embodiedin many other forms, all coming within the broad scope oi our invention.

We claim:

A helmet comprising a relatively rigid crown, a head harness having adisc secured at the top thereof, an annular strip secured to said crownand having a portion extending beneath said disc for rotatably securingsaid disc to said crown, and a face protecting shield secured to anddepending from said crown.

HENRY W. LUECK. CHARLES 1-1. DAVIS.

